POOLE Hospital is in the top ten hospitals nationally for flu vaccination uptake by frontline healthcare workers this winter.

Almost 90 per cent of the trust’s frontline staff - who deal directly with patients - have had the vaccination and Poole is the only acute hospital from the south of England to make the top ten.

The hospital is also one of 36 trusts that has achieved the national target of 75 per cent flu vaccination uptake among healthcare workers.

A total of 88.7 per cent of staff have had their jabs, which is the highest ever for a staff flu campaign at the trust and exceeds last year’s 86.4 per cent.

The staff communications drive for the vaccination utilised the hospital’s ‘We all have a role in infection control’ message. It provided education on the potential dangers of flu, the benefits of the vaccination and debunked myths about the jab.

New to this winter’s campaign was the ability for staff to send a bleep message to an occupational health nurse’s handheld pager to request a vaccination for when and where was best for them and their team or department.

The vaccine works by boosting the body’s immune response to flu. It is a quadrivalent vaccine meaning that it gives protection for four of the most common strains of influenza.

Dr Angus Wood, the hospital’s medical director, said: “The flu vaccination is part of our duty of care to patients and this is a fantastic effort from our staff to stay healthy over the winter period.

“I’m proud that we’ve made the top ten and our high vaccination rates will help reduce the spread of flu in our hospital and the community.”

Vaccinations are still available for staff who have not yet had the jab as the trust attempts to boost its figures even further.